Advice Needed Please! (1 Viewer)

[Danielle Montgomery]

Hi everyone we have just started fulltiming in our pilote galaxy motorhome. Couple of things we have come across that we are seeking advice for if anyone would mind helping.
1. Out fridge has been modified at some point & has a silver switch that seems to put a fan or vent on for the fridge. It's quite loud which is why someone probably modified it to turn off however if we have it on all the time it drains our power. Do you think we need it on all the time?
2. When we first started our battery reading was sometimes up to 15. 1v (we have a solar panel) & we could go 2 weeks parked up & still have power however it now only goes up to 13v & drops during the day to 12. 4 & am worried about losing power. Does anyone know why it may have altered? Not sure if battery or solar panel problem.
Thanks so much for any advice you all may have x

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN, sorry can't help you on your technical questions but I'm sure someone will be along shortly and give you some answers.

 

[icantremember]

Hi Danielle and welcome.

I reckon the fan on your fridge has been added by a previous owner and should only be necessary in very hot weather, I have fitted a similar thing to mine using four computer fans and is very quiet. If you are going to use it then it may be worth changing the fan to something quieter.

As far as the solar/battery is concerned I would have thought 15.1v was a bit high but maybe your batteery is past it's best,... there are many more members on here that should be able to give you more info.

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[Fatima Saysell]

DH says that batteries should show 14.8v when charging and about 12.9v when not being used. Iit sounds like there is a dead cell. He says to take it do be 'drop tested'.

 

[gus-lopez]

Yes when on 12volt or gas & ambient temperature is around/above 30 ºc then fan assistance is required & normally auto controlled by a thermostat. The switch is obviously to turn off at night.

 

[StitchesnFluff]

I agree
Your battery may need replacing?

Yes when on 12volt or gas & ambient temperature is around/above 30 ºc then fan assistance is required & normally auto controlled by a thermostat. The switch is obviously to turn off at night.

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[DBK]

Hi everyone we have just started fulltiming in our pilote galaxy motorhome. Couple of things we have come across that we are seeking advice for if anyone would mind helping.
1. Out fridge has been modified at some point & has a silver switch that seems to put a fan or vent on for the fridge. It's quite loud which is why someone probably modified it to turn off however if we have it on all the time it drains our power. Do you think we need it on all the time?
2. When we first started our battery reading was sometimes up to 15. 1v (we have a solar panel) & we could go 2 weeks parked up & still have power however it now only goes up to 13v & drops during the day to 12. 4 & am worried about losing power. Does anyone know why it may have altered? Not sure if battery or solar panel problem.
Thanks so much for any advice you all may have x

Have you cleaned your solar panel - it could be covered in dust and seagull poo.

 

[gus-lopez]

Have you cleaned your solar panel - it could be covered in dust and seagull poo.

Live here & they need doing morning & night !

 

[Danielle Montgomery]

Hi thanks for the advice. I will run the fridge until we need to put the fan on. I have cleaned the solar panel & it looked dusty but after cleaning half of the panel is faded & the other half shiny. Does that mean only half of it is working? Thankd

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[Wildman]

when the battery is fully charged the controller will switch off further charge to the battery the 15v you are seeing could well be just the solar output which can be anything up to 17.5 Volts. As already said the fridge fan is an extra one for very high temperatures, you should not need to have it on in the UK. By all means have your battery tested just to be on the safe side, generally speaking the reading you see is the charge rather than the actual battery voltage, hence it drops when dark or when a load is applied.